9/20/11
Mrs. Self leaves a detailed note to the sub if she knows that she will not be at school that day, and she will tell the sub to get information from the filer that holds all of the lessons that are pre-planned each week.

10/5/11
Mrs. Dickens has a "I need help!" paper that a substitute may refer to if they are confused with what they are suppose to be doing. She has a suggestion for activities and students that can help for each subject, which I think is really neat and helpful!

10/8/11
Mrs. Dickens has a certain folder where she keeps extra lessons and activities for the subs just in case she needs in extra assignments prepared for the class at the last minute. She is a great example to follow when it comes to being prepared, because she has lessons already planned out for a couple weeks in advance.

10/12/11
Mrs. Dickens has a note that she leaves for a sub if she must be absent, and the note states at the top, "To my wonderful sub, if by chance you get confused with any part of my lesson plans, here are some suggestions:", and she lists suggestions of activities for the students to do that pertain to each subject that could possibly be covered that day. At the bottom of the note, she also states where the sub can find classroom materials that she might need that day. I really like how she does this for the sub, how organized!

11/2/11
In my Elementary Classroom Management textbook, there is a lot of valuable information about how a teacher should be properly prepared for a substitute teacher.
Some of the responsibilities of a teacher are to:
-plan well
-leave an up-to-date paper or electronic substitute folder or easy access to lesson plans
-leave a copy of the discipline plan, current seating chart, and class roster with notations of relevant student information
-leave the class schedule, current duty schedule, classroom monitor and volunteer lists, and a school map
-teach their students how to treat and work with substitutes, and hold students accountable for their behavior

*If all of this is done by the teacher, then the substitute should feel well prepared in the classroom.*

11/10/11
On the note that Mrs. Dickens leaves for a substitute (that I wrote about and described above on 10/12/11) she lists many different activities that the sub could do with the students if he/she gets confused with any part of Mrs. Dickens' lesson plans.
A few of the suggestions are:
For reading-have the students read silently the story of the week in their reading book.
For spelling-have the students write each spelling word from the board 5 times each.
For language arts-put up parts of speech on the board and have them compose sentences. They are laminated and stored on the back filing cabinet.
For writing-have the students write in their journals in their desk. Give them a topic to write on.
For math-play around with the world with the addition flash cards.
For social studies/science-ask students where we finished off and then read as a group.

11/11/11
I believe the following is important to have in a substitute folder:
-a seating chart
-the class role
-the class schedule (many teachers have this on the classroom wall as well)
-medication and allergy information pertaining to the students
-lockdown information
-a thank you note for the sub
-the lesson plans for the day, as well as other extra activities for the students to work on if they get done with their work early
-the classroom discipline plan
-a school map